Long wait times, irregular service and packed RapidKL might have less to do with large influxes of passengers, but rather the fact that 23 percent of RapidKL buses are not operational. A predicament the company aims to improve on with the purchase of 300 new buses by 2024.
According to reporting by Bernama, President and CEO of Prasarana Malaysia Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said “We have 1,540 RapidKL buses but only 1,183 operate every day. The number of buses is still very small compared to countries with efficient public transport like Singapore.”
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In November, the shortage of buses was further exacerbated when the Kelana Jaya LRT line experienced a malfunction in the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system, causing massive delays to commuters.
According to Azharuddin, Prasarana plans to add 300 buses, including 100 electric buses in 2024. Tenders are slated to open in Q1 of 2023 with a total allocation of RM 180 million.
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The first phase of this will only involve Rapid KL services, to meet the transport demand in the Klang Valley.
The new electric buses will include 45 new midsize buses (7-8 meters in length) and 55 large-sized buses (10-12 meters).
Source: RapidKL: 23 percent of buses not operational, plans to add 300 more by 2024